Vocabulary_for_TOEFL_iBT

prefix mal- means bad, evil, or wrong can help you significantly narrow down your choices in the following question:

To malign means

a.to arrange.

b.to speak badly about.

c.to charm, enchant.

d.to cast an evil spell.

With your knowledge of prefixes, you can eliminate choices a and c, leaving you with a 50–50 chance of choosing the correct answer. If you recall any context in which you have heard the word malign before, you may be able to choose the correct answer, b. To malign is to say evil, harmful, and often untrue things about someone; to speak ill of.

JHERE’S A HINT

NUMERICAL PREFIXES

Probably among the most easily recognized of the prefixes are the numerical prefixes; that is, those that can tell something about the number represented by the word. Take a look at some words that contain numerical prefixes: bipartisan (two parties), triage (responding to the needs in order of priority, traditionally in three orders of priority), and trilogy (a series of three plays). Among the most common number related prefixes are:

un-, mono-: one (unique, unity, monotonous, monopoly) bi-: two (bigamy, bilateral, bicameral, bicycle)

tri-: three (trivial, trident, trinity, triple)

quad-, quar-: four (quadrant, quarter, quart, quartet) deci-: ten (decade, decathlon, decimal, decibel) cent-: hundred (century, centipede, centennial) mil-: thousand (millipede, millennium, millimeter)

Following is a list of the prefixes. For each prefix, we have provided two examples of words that use that prefix. With a few exceptions, these examples are not test-prep words; rather, they are basic words that are probably already a part of your vocabulary. This will help you remember the meaning of each prefix—and show you just how well you already know them.

A more comprehensive list of the most common English prefixes is located in Appendix B. After you have completed this chapter, make sure you review the list carefully and study any prefixes that are unfamiliar to you.

JHERE’S A HINT

SOUNDS LIKE . . .

As you use your knowledge of prefixes and suffixes to determine meaning, see if you can recall hearing or using any words with similar roots or sounds. For example, you may realize that agrarian sounds like it shares a root word with agriculture—and it does. Even if you don’t know exactly what agriculture means, you might know that it has something to do with land and its cultivation. You may also realize that the suffix -ian calls for an adjective, not a verb.

The point of learning about prefixes is to be able to notice how they can change word meanings in recognizable ways. Some prefixes immediately change the entire meaning of a word. For example, the prefixes un-, in-, dis-, and il- immediately signal that the word is the opposite of its root, as in unhappy, inconsiderate, displeasing, and illegible.

Other prefixes only remotely affect word meaning. For example, there is only a distant hint of the prefix deci-, which means “ten,” in the word decimate, which means “to completely destroy.” Historically, the word decimate meant to destroy a tenth of someone’s property. Now we hardly recognize that meaning in the present definition.

The important point to remember is that in learning prefixes, you are not looking to memorize a long list of disconnected word parts, but to recognize familiar examples that you can apply to new words when you encounter them.

UON YOUR OWN

GO TO PLACES WHERE ENGLISH IS SPOKEN

The more you listen to English being spoken, the more you will understand. Visit a local park or museum where you will hear English around you. Go to the movie theater to see a film in English, or rent a film in your native language and watch it with English subtitles. Try watching the evening news. Listening well will improve your English vocabulary.

SUFFIXES

Suffixes are syllables added to the end of words to change or add to their meaning. They often change a word’s part of speech, thereby also changing how the word functions in a sentence. Suffixes tell you whether a word is a person, place, or thing (a noun); an action or state of being (a verb); or a modifier, which is a word that describes (an adjective or adverb).

JHERE’S A HINT

PARTS OF SPEECH

The following table offers a quick reference guide for the main parts of speech.

For example, look how the suffixes in the following table change the word antagonist from a noun to an adjective to a verb (and don’t forget to notice the prefix, ant-).

Likewise, the word venerate changes from a verb to an adjective to a noun, depending upon its suffix.

Again, just knowing suffixes won’t enable you to determine the full meaning of an unfamiliar word, but it can help you determine the function of the word, zero in on its meaning, and eliminate incorrect answers on an exam. For example, if you know that the suffix -ity means state of being, you know that a word with this ending is probably a noun describing a state of being, such as equality (state of being equal). Similarly, if you know that -ish is a common suffix for adjectives, you can eliminate answer choices that do not match that part of speech.

Select the best answer to the question.

Squeamish means

a.to scream or squeal.

b.recurring illness.

c.extremely shy.

d.easily disgusted.

Choices a and b are definitions for other parts of speech—a verb and a noun, respectively. Only choices c and d define adjectives, and only choice d is correct. Squeamish means easily sickened, disgusted, nauseated, or shocked.

JHERE’S A HINT

MOST OF THE TIME, BUT NOT ALWAYS

While prefixes and suffixes are fundamental components of your vocabulary, it’s important to remember that they are tools to use in conjunction with other vocabulary skills.

For example, most words that end in -ish are adjectives describing a characteristic. However, vanquish and varnish both end in -ish, but they are both verbs, not adjectives. Thus, as you come across vocabulary words with common prefixes and suffixes, use your knowledge of prefixes and suffixes, but look for other clues to meaning as well, including context (see Chapter 2) and word roots (see Chapter 4 and Appendix B) to be sure you are on the right track.

The following is a list of the suffixes you need to know for the practice questions at the end of the chapter. For each suffix, we have again provided two examples of words that use that suffix, and again, these examples are basic words that are part of your everyday vocabulary.

Noun Suffixes

-ance, -ence: action, process, or state of

adolescence (the state of growing up from childhood to adulthood; the transitional period between youth and maturity), dependence (the state of being dependent)

-ian: one who is or does

comedian (one who creates comedy), politician (one who seeks or holds a political office)

-ion: act or process; state or condition

detection (the act of detecting), election (the act or power of electing)

-ism: act, practice, or process; state or doctrine of

feminism (belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes), materialism (the belief that the acquisition of material possessions is the highest good)

-ist: one who performs, makes, produces, believes, etc.

dentist (one who is trained and licensed to practice dentistry), pianist (one who plays the piano)

-ity: quality, state, or degree

equality (the state or quality of being equal), fidelity (the quality of being faithful)

-sis: process or action

diagnosis (the process of identifying the nature or cause of a disease or injury), paralysis (loss of sensation or ability to move or function)

-ure: act, process, function

enclosure (an area or thing that is enclosed), failure (something that has failed to perform as expected or requested).

40 VOCABULARY FOR TOEFL iBT

JHERE’S A HINT

MEMORIZING PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

You may try to save time by memorizing a difficult vocabulary word for each prefix or suffix. However, you can quickly and accurately learn the most common prefixes and suffixes by remembering examples of words you already know, such as cooperate and dismiss. Because the words are already so familiar to you, you don’t have to worry about forgetting their meaning and you will be able to recall them easily even while under the pressure of an exam.

Adjective Suffixes

-able, -ible: capable or worthy of; tending or liable to

dependable (worthy of being depended on, trustworthy), incredible (not credible; unable to be believed, improbable)

-al, -ial, -ical: having the quality of, relating to, or characterized by

practical (of or relating to practice or action; useful), ethical (of or relating to ethics or morals)

-an, -ian: related to, characteristic of

humanitarian (relating to, or characteristic of a humanitarian), vegetarian (relating to vegetarianism)

-ic: pertaining or relating to, having the quality of

dramatic (of or relating to drama, theatrical), realistic (of or relating to the representation of things as they really are)

-ile: having the qualities of

fragile (easily broken, damaged, or destroyed; frail), servile (pertaining to or befitting a slave; abjectly submissive, slavish)

-ish: having the character of

childish (characteristic of, pertaining to, or resembling a child), foolish (devoid of good sense or judgment; exhibiting folly, in the manner of a fool)

-ive: performing or tending towards (an action); having the nature of cooperative (marked by a willingness to cooperate; done with or working with

others for a common purpose), defensive (serving to defend or protect)

-ous, -ose: full of, having the quality of, relating to

glorious (having or deserving glory, famous), nauseous (causing nausea, sickening)

Verb Suffixes

-ate: to make, cause to be or become

deteriorate (to make worse, impair; to make inferior in quality or character), irritate (to cause annoyance or disturbance in; to make impatient, angry, annoyed)

-ify, -fy: to make, form into

beautify (to make beautiful), specify (to state explicitly or in detail)

-ize: to cause to be or become, to bring about

colonize (to establish a colony), democratize (to make or become democratic)

TIPS AND STRATEGIES

A good knowledge of prefixes and suffixes is an invaluable asset when you are building your vocabulary and studying for the TOEFL iBT. Here are some specific tips and strategies to use as you develop this skill and prepare for your test.

●Take the time to memorize the most common prefixes and suffixes. By memorizing these essential word parts, you will be able to learn new words more quickly and better determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.

●Use words that you are very familiar with as examples when you study prefixes and suffixes. The more familiar the word is to you (e.g., cooperate), the easier it will be for you to remember the meaning of the prefix or suffix.

●Remember that you use prefixes and suffixes every day, all the time. Do not feel intimidated by the long lists in this chapter or in Appendix B. You already know much of this material.

●Remember that prefixes and suffixes alone do not create meaning; rather, they change or add to the meaning of the root word. Use as many